Various publications, including patents, published applications, technical articles and scholarly articles are cited throughout the specification. Each of these cited publications is incorporated by reference herein, in its entirety and for all purposes.
Orthopedic implants come in many different shapes and sizes to accommodate different sizes and needs of particular patients. For implantation, an incision at or near the site of implantation, or otherwise conducive for implantation, is made in the patient, with additional tissue dissected to create a pathway for guiding the implant to its ultimate location within the body. Larger and more irregularly shaped implants generally necessitate larger incisions and larger pathway dissections, causing additional trauma to the patient's body and risking unintended injury to the patient. In addition, such larger incisions and tissue dissection increases the risk of an infection, prolongs recovery time, and may cause additional discomfort in the patient during the post-surgery healing period.
It is desirable to minimize trauma to the body during the implantation procedure, yet there are practical limitations to these efforts insofar as the implant needs sufficient room for insertion and placement. More recently, expandable implants have emerged. These expandable implants benefit patients by requiring much smaller incisions and dissection pathways, thereby improving patient healing time and reducing discomfort.
Expandable implants currently in use rely upon manipulation during the surgical procedure. Often, this manipulation requires significant amounts of time for adjusting the implant until the final extended position is attained. The additional time required for this process increases cost of the procedure, as well as enhances the risk to the patient for developing an infection or other complications. Thus, there is a give and take in terms of reducing surgical manipulation in one part of the implantation procedure, but increasing surgical manipulation in another part of the implantation procedure
Therefore, there remains a need in the art for implantation procedures that minimize surgical manipulation both in terms of the extent of incision and dissection required, and in terms of placement and positioning of the implant at the implantation site. It is believed that improvements in the design of expandable implants themselves can facilitate improvement in implantation procedures.